Saturday, April 5, 2014

[MLP/REVIEW/S4E21] Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3



All my wut...
...
PULL YOUR PANTS UP DUDE!


All right, this is it. It is THE episode, THE episode that every teacher everywhere needs to watch. I could go into a long rant about the flaws of public schooling and why it doesn't work, but I wont. Rather, this episode states it perfectly in its moral, and manages to do so in a positive way that doesn't cast blame on anyone. But before anything else, lets talk about the episode itself.

Despite having a moral that could be predicted from even before the opening theme, this episode says what it needs to say in a way that is well done, and speaks to both the teacher and the student equally. This simple fact that so few people seem to comprehend these days, that everyone has their own method of learning that they do best in, and that no method is wrong, is brought up and handled in a very mature and vet very simple way. Even if I hadn't enjoyed the subtle commentary on the flaws of public school, I still would have enjoyed this episode, as Rainbow is a lot like me when it comes to learning. Truth be told, I don't do so great in a traditional schooling environment. Every little silly thing that Rainbow did as Twilight tried to teach her reminded me or something I had either done or thought of doing at some point during schooling. Thankfully, I have had the benefit of homeschooling, and therefore, having classes more catered to my style. I highly doubt I would be a very good student in public school.



As good as the first act of the episode is, the second part is just as great. It gives us little peeks into the learning styles of the rest of the mane cast. As much as I identified with Rainbow's dilemma, it's AJ's style that seems the most like mine. I learn well with a hands on approach, taking everything in slowly over time, and learning things because I want to, not because I have to. (case in point: I know too much about minecraft...) Probably the best single line in this episode is when Rainbow says she only has twelve hours, and AJ basically tells Rainbow that she's screwed. I did like pinkie's rap sequence, but I highly question the animators' choice to have the dude with his pants down... If you don't know, it's not just a distasteful fashion trend. It was originally used in prisons to communicate to other prisoners that you want homosexual intercourse, and later, very unfortunately so, was mimicked out on the streets. Also, side note here, Rarity looks awesome in her antiquated Wonderbolts uniform.


The interactions between Twilight and Rainbow throughout the episode are some of the best the show has seen, on the level of those from Look Before you Sleep. I also had no complaints about this episode besides the pony with his pants down, but I can ignore that for the most part since it's only in the background for a very quick moment and had nothing to do with anything else in the episode. Furthermore, this episode managed to keep me smiling and giggling throughout the entire twenty two minutes, and that plus an excellent handling of a moral that most everyone today needs to hear, means that this episode gets a solid "10/10, would watch again" from me, and takes its place alongside Rarity Takes Manehattan, Lesson Zero, and a few others as one of my personal favorites. 

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